A gun gang robbed a security van when it stopped at a Warwickshire petrol station.

Two police armed response vehicles carrying four officers went to Corley services on the M6 where they found a white van which had been ditched by the crooks.

The gang made off in another vehicle after the raid, which lasted about 10 minutes.

Police were alerted to the incident at 8.50am on Saturday. Later, a police helicopter could be seen hovering over Coventry canal basin, near the ring road.

Insp Mark Payne, of Warwickshire Police, said detectives had been interviewing witnesses.

He said: "It is not exactly the kind of thing you expect first thing in the morning. We've got a couple of witnesses who saw what took place. It would have been quite a busy time with people stopping for breakfast."

He said no-one was hurt in the raid but he was waiting for precise details of what actually happened.